first time with discus - qt'ing of wild discus

[anewbie]

I'm buying some wild discus - semi royal that are approx 6 1/2 inches according to the seller. According to the seller he has treated them for 4 weeks with prazi pro and metroplex but recommends further treatment.

I will be keeping these in ro water in a 240 with some cardinals, wc blue rams and a single L177. Eventually in the spring i might add 4 more wc discus so the end state will be far from over populated.

The question is what to do with the initial 4. Is a bare bottom 29 (which is what i have handy) sufficient for 2-4 weeks additional qt before moving them into the 240 and per seller recommendation should i continue to treat them with prazi-pro and metroplex or should i observe them first to see obvious signs of parasite before further treatment.

I've gotten some mix feedback with very experience people telling me a 29 is plenty large and a 29 is way too small. 4 weeks of previous treatment should have been more than adequate and further medication would be bad for the fishes and to be safe is should keep giving them meds.

The target temp is 84 but of course it will vary a little probably 83-85 range.

So i guess two most two pressing question is a 29 large enough for the 4 of them for a few weeks or should i scrounge around the local stores for a 40B (a causal check indicates most of the stores are sold out from the holiday weekend).

[Red Eye.]

Were did you buy your wilds from?.

is a 29......??????? TANK 290 litre.....? if so its around 40/50 litres per fish.

[fljones3]

BB 29g for quarantine could work — plenty of water changes. However, I would use a 40g breeder for that size fish if I had an option.

[Red Eye.]

ohh 29 gallon.

[Willie]

A 29 gallon bare bottom tank would be a little tight for 6.5" fish, but it would certainly work for quarantine. The smaller size makes large water changes easier and treatment would be less expensive. But I have two concerns with your description:

1. 6.5" wild discus exists but is rare. I would suggest that an accurate measurement be a condition of sale.
2. If the seller has treated the discus for 4 weeks, why does he recommend further treatment? You should not be buying sick fish. Buy them when he certifies that they're healthy.

[anewbie]

A fellow in ny; i've purchased from him before he imports a lot of fishes but is not a regular shop.

[anewbie]

A 29 gallon bare bottom tank would be a little tight for 6.5" fish, but it would certainly work for quarantine. The smaller size makes large water changes easier and treatment would be less expensive. But I have two concerns with your description:

1. 6.5" wild discus exists but is rare. I would suggest that an accurate measurement be a condition of sale.
2. If the seller has treated the discus for 4 weeks, why does he recommend further treatment? You should not be buying sick fish. Buy them when he certifies that they're healthy.

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I don't know about rare-ness he had two species cam?? orange and these royal i was going to buy 4 of both but then two boxes would be required and shipping would be $$$; anyway what you suggest makes sense but it is too late for that. His prices are not horrible and he has a decent reputation but he is an individual and i think perhaps he is more knowledgeable than myself but not someone who has done this for years and years like some of the old timers.
Anyway they were label as:
Royal/SemiRoyal Discus
Collection Point: Trombetas
(the ones i'm not buying were):
Cametá Discus
5”-6”
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Anyway it is too late for things like a certificate of health; the outlay was a bit but from what i've seen for some discus not excessive (I think it was around $550 for the 4 of them); i have about 8 years of experience with fishes but 0 experience with discus and very poor experience when it comes to meds and detecting parasite.
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I will try to get a 55 gallon tomorrow for them - bit narrower than a 40 but taller - i can drain it ok and refill it very fast with ro water (python siphon is the bottleneck in drainage but the pump on my ro system is a well pump and i can move around 6 to 8 gallons per minute.
-
anyway none of that is relevant - the only thing important to me is that the discus get proper treatment and part of proper treatment is meds if they need them but not so much meds it does more harm than good. From my conversation with him it sounds like his normal routine is to do two 4 week treatments standard but others have suggested this is too much med and can be a danger to fishes. I'll post pictures when they arrive and anything i think is unusual - i'm getting freeze-dried black worms and i hope they will eat that because the only source of live food i have is to go to the local lfs and get some brine shrimp - i can of course hatch bbs but bbs is probably not filling for a giant fish - and yes i'm aware that in nature they need lots of plant based food and i will be giving them such in quality flakes (not sure they will eat flakes); also the freeze dried worms i got are mixed with some plant stuff.
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Anyway the fishes arrive monday and i'll try to get some accurate measurements and report what i find. Btw for a discus what is consider 6 inches - from top to bottom (minus fins?) or from front to back (minus fins) ?
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In case it is not clear their actual 'home' will be a 240 gallon aquarium (72 inches x 24 inches x 24 inches); the planned final stocking for this aquarium is approx: 1 l177; 8 wc discus; 8 wc rams; lots of cardinals. 40 cardinals will be in this aquarium with the L177 - so the discus will be the next fish added after qt'ing. The rams will likely be added in march and the other 4 wild discus probably march-may timeline - the rams will likely come from aquaticclarity and the wc dsicus will come from either quaiticclarity, wetspot or the fellow in ny depending on who has what and what price point et all. Anyway that is the long term plan - that would be the final stocking for the aquarium which is not sparse but i hope not excessively heavy - mentioning this in case someone sees a red flag. Naturally no cory wants to be at 84 so no cory

[anewbie]

Discus finally arrived after a long delay:

d3.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

Did they come from discus.com?
Pat

[anewbie]

Did they come from discus.com?
Pat

No. Should they have come from discus.com ?

[fljones3]

Look like Whattley's.

[Second Hand Pat]

No. Should they have come from discus.com ?

No, does your seller have a website?
Pat

[anewbie]

No, does your seller have a website?
Pat

No - he mostly sells on band; these are said to be wild caught cameta.

[brewmaster15]

They look like a healthy group you have there. Congratulations! A perfect christmas gift to yourself.

What size tank did you end up putting them in.. 4 adults in a 29g is a bit small . You can get away with it but its not ideal.

Im a bit more concerned with the sellers

According to the seller he has treated them for 4 weeks with prazi pro and metroplex but recommends further treatment.

.

There really is no reason to prophylactically treat discus for so long with prazi and metro. What exactly is the seller treating? And how are they checking the fish actually have a parasite. Its overkill and can harm the fishes organs. I would let those fish rest and get used to you.

Hth,
Al

[anewbie]

They look like a healthy group you have there. Congratulations! A perfect christmas gift to yourself.

What size tank did you end up putting them in.. 4 adults in a 29g is a bit small . You can get away with it but its not ideal.

Im a bit more concerned with the sellers .

There really is no reason to prophylactically treat discus for so long with prazi and metro. What exactly is the seller treating? And how are they checking the fish actually have a parasite. Its overkill and can harm the fishes organs. I would let those fish rest and get used to you.

Hth,
Al

They are in a 40B qt aquarium for now - their eventual home will be a 240. First is picture from this morning; 2nd is eventual home. I'm not treating them with meds (yet); won't treat them with meds unless there is indication they need it. Will probably leave them in the 40B for 4 weeks and then move to the 240.u1.jpgd2.jpg